A Horrible Dye Job
by kaaaaaaaos
Summary: It has been almost a year since the Guardians fought Peter's egomaniac of a father. They are now wandering around the universe looking for trouble. Obviously, being on a ship with six people can lead to a little chaos and occasionally some prank wars. Rocket walks in on an unfortunate surprise. (Warning, eventual smut)
1. Peter the Pumpkin Head

A Horrible Dye Job

Chapter 1: Peter the Pumpkin Head

"Okay, who the hell thought this was funny?" Peter asked, huffing out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He was soaking wet and clearly mad as hell. His nostrils were flared and his brow furrowed. There was something off about his appearance, but the bulge in his towel was slightly distracting to Gamora.

"Ha ha! You look quite ugly!" Drax roared as he pointed at Peter's hair. His hair was bright orange. Peter made a face at him and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Yeah, well, at least I have hair!" He stormed back into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. Gamora looked at Drax, the only other person in the common room, and asked: "What did you do?"

"Nothing." Drax said plainly.

Rocket came scampering into the room and was being closely followed by Groot, who was still a teenager but was almost as tall as Gamora now.

"Please tell me I didn't miss it!" Rocket cried as he raced to the bathroom door. Gamora was beginning to piece things together, Rocket obviously did something to Peter's shampoo to make his hair that vibrant orange. But why would he do that?

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard him yelling too. Gamora! What was his reaction? Was he all like 'Oh no! My hair is orange!'?"

Drax roared with laughter once again, obviously reminiscing about that altercation which took place mere minutes ago.

"It was glorious! He was so confused!"

"Rocket, what did you do?" Gamora asked sharply. Clearly, she was the only one who thought that turning someone's hair a different color was not funny. Well, besides Mantis probably, but she was taking a nap in her room so she was not useful backup right now.

"Quill's ego seemed to be getting a little bit too big to fit on the ship, so I decided to do him a favor and make sure it still fit." Rocket said smugly while crossing his arms across his chest. He looked relatively proud of himself. He also had a point, Peter was beginning to be demanding and unappreciative of the teams work. He was snappy and just plain ol' irritable. The Guardians were doing odd jobs and just meandering around the galaxy looking for trouble. Everyone had been on edge lately, especially since there were rumors of Nebula's own adventures against Thanos.

"Come on. Rocket, that's just childish." Gamora snapped at him, irritated that she was now going to have to be the one to calm Peter down and make sure he doesn't retaliate and wind up ruining their friendship forever.

"I am Groot."

"Peter said what?" Gamora quickly turned her head towards Groot, who had just said that Peter called Rocket a "trash panda" again. She buried her head in her hands out of frustration and decided to go do some damage control. "Okay, guys, I will go talk to him. Just stay out of my way for a while."

Drax, for once, read the room and announced that he was going to make something to eat and wanted Rocket and Groot's help.

Gamora knocked gingerly on the bathroom door.

"What!" Peter snapped angrily, and Gamora could hear what sounded like a towel rubbing against something.

"It's me. Open up, please." She waited a couple of moments before turning the knob. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. She walked inside the spacious bathroom only to be greeted by the sight of Peter's bare ass. He quickly whipped around and draped the towel in front of him so that Gamora couldn't see anything.

"Gamora, what the fuck!" Wow, his hair really was orange. It had somehow gotten worse in the five minutes that had passed since he had stormed out demanding an answer.

She couldn't help it, she giggled at him. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand and tried to cover it with a cough.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up! Orange hair is hilarious!" Peter rolled his eyes and secured his towel around his waist.

"It really does not look that bad," Gamora began, only to be interrupted by his laughter.

"Yes, it does." Peter groaned as he tousled his hair while glancing into the mirror. He was obviously upset by the situation at hand; Gamora knew how much he cared about his hair. He told her one night while they were laying around listening to music that his hair was one of his favorite features about himself. At the time she thought that was idiotic, but now she knew how impactful hair actually was. Maybe she should do something different with hers? No, now was not the time to ponder about that.

Gamora reached out and touched Peters' shoulder. It was warm and slightly moist; she stroked his skin with her thumb gingerly. He seemed to relax under her hand. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I just don't understand. Does shampoo even go bad?" He joked, staring into her eyes. She once again noticed how they were not all one solid color, there were flecks of blue, green, and even some light brown.

"I haven't noticed an expiration date. However, I think I know who was behind this little…incident." Gamora replied as she ran her hand through Peter's wet orange hair. He moved closer to her, so close that they were almost touching. She could feel something, some unspoken thing. Well, it was sort of spoken now. It had been almost a year since they had fought his egomaniac of a father, and Peter brought up this thing. Gamora did not like talking about her feelings, she was essentially a trained assassin, and what soldier wanted to make themselves that vulnerable?

"Who? God, was it Rocket?" Gamora cocked her head and him and smiled.

"Apparently. He said you called him a "trash panda" again? You really need to watch what you say to your team."

"Me? Rocket was the one who wanted me to skip Toto's 'Africa' and I told him he had terrible taste and…" Peter trailed off, suddenly realizing that he had made a grave mistake in pissing Rocket off.

"Well, you should apologize and see if he made an antidote."

"Antidote? Gamora, this is probably permanent hair dye." Peter groaned and slipped his hands onto her back, and buried his head into her neck. He was usually touchy-feely, but not normally this much. He was obviously really upset.

"What are you talking about?" She could barely understand him because her mind was going everywhere. She was focusing on how his skin was still slightly wet and his hands were slowly moving up and down her body and oh god.

"Dye. It changes the color of things." He now had his hands dangerously close to her ass, and she was trying to remain calm. He picked his head off of her shoulder and grinned.

"Oh." She said, and he chuckled at her. "What's so funny?"  
He smiled and shook his head. "You're as stiff as a board. My hair is fucking orange and you can't even relax around me. Is it really that horrible?" Damn him. He knew exactly what he was doing and why she was stiff and ugh. Just ugh. Frustrated, she pulled away from him.

"It is not flattering." She huffed and walked away, leaving a confused Peter to sit and think about what he had done.


	2. Wise Men

Hi y'all! I really appreciate the feedback and reviews! I hope you enjoy this next chapter (:

Chapter 2: Wise Men

What the hell. Gamora just walked out and left Peter standing here like an idiot. Plus, his hair was orange. Rocket's method is usually taking weird body "accessories", but he couldn't take anything from Peter so he decided to ruin something instead. He'd much rather have a Drax turd in his bed. Rocket's lucky that he's too nice to taxidermy his raccoon ass. But he needs to think of a way to show him that messing with Peter is a bad idea. Except… Gamora would then kill him if this turned into a full-on war.

Gamora. The unspoken thing between them had been so inconsistent lately. Like earlier, she was stiff and just seemed uncomfortable with him touching her. Usually she melted under his hands and folded into him. Then again, he had also been acting strange lately. He had been having these horrible nightmares about Thanos and Gamora and just that whole dynamic. Ever since Gamora had explained to him about the Infinity Stones and Thanos' desire for them… it had been a little weird. Peter could tell that Gamora still cared about Thanos, even if she hated him, she still cared. He understood that feeling, as his father was also an insane homicidal maniac. Except his father was dead while Thanos was still on a warpath.

He should probably go and apologize to Gamora.

Peter caught a glimpse of his burnt orange hair in the mirror as he walked out of the bathroom. Damn Rocket. Frustrated, he stormed off to his room to get changed. He usually brought clothes with him into the bathroom but completely spaced today. It was apparently Gamora's lucky day because she definitely saw his bare ass.

He grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over his still slightly damp chest, and threw on some boxers and sweatpants. He rummaged around for some socks and quickly yanked them on. Peter glanced around his messy and unkempt room and sighed. Gamora was always on him to clean up after himself, maybe he should clean it to surprise her…

*Cue 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' by Whitney Houston cleaning montage*

"Ohhh I wanna dance with somebody!" Peter sang as he balled up socks and threw them into his dirty clothes hamper. He grabbed his brush off of the table and began to groove his body to the beat. "I wanna feel the _heat_ with somebodaaayy!" He mimed the brush as a microphone and ran his hand through his hair, obviously passionate about the song that was playing. After Kraglin gave Peter his Zune, Gamora had bought him some type of speaker to plug the player into so he could listen to the music anywhere on the Benatar. Kraglin actually had some pretty decent taste in music, Peter had discovered some unique new bands, such as ABBA and Kanye West. He thought Kanye's song 'Gold Digger' was especially great.

Peter glanced around his now relatively clean room and decided it was time to show Gamora what a great job he had done. Hopefully he could get away without apologizing by making it up for it with a clean(er) room. He quickly raced over to his new speaker system and decided to blast it in the hallway, but he had to decide on a song. He thumbed around and chose 'Scar Tissue' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

He raced down the quarters of the Benatar until he got to Gamora's room. He knocked on her door and waited for her response. He heard her get off of her bed and rustle around for something before opening it up. She hid her face from the door, almost standing directly behind it.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice soft and low. That didn't sound like his Gamora, she was usually excited to see him.

"Oh, uh, I wanted to show you something...but if you're not up to it's fine…" Peter trailed off, unsure of what to do in this situation. Gamora cleared her throat and poked one eye out from behind the door. They looked bloodshot and puffy. Had she been crying? Oh shit, did he make her cry? Hell, this orange hair almost made him cry.

"What is it?" She questioned, and he felt like she was almost staring into his soul. She had definitely been crying. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and play with her hair as she talked and vented.

"It's a surprise." Peter managed a weak smile and held out his hand, motioning for her to take it. She hesitated for a second before extending an arm which was clad in a fluffy yellow robe. He was taken back for a second; since when did Gamora, a universal badass, wear a fluffy robe? Let alone a yellow one? Peter thought back and couldn't imagine her in anything but black or that dark red she liked. Anyways, he grabbed her hand and softly pulled her out from behind the door.

"Okay, this better be good." Peter laughed and drew her into a hug. She immediately relaxed and he rubbed his hand on her back. Well, rather, her fluffy yellow back. It was really soft and comforting. He could see why she liked it. He was also rather relieved that she was actually accepting his embrace.

"And can you feel the love tonight?" Fuck. Peter had forgotten that his entire music library was on shuffle. Gamora perked up, lifting her head off his shoulder.

"Is this your surprise?" She inquired, looking rather confused. Peter felt himself blush and quickly tried to explain himself.

"Ah, no, but everything needs a badass intro song, right?" He pulled her down the hallway and turned into his room, and bolted to the Zune dock which he hastily paused.

He turned around and gestured to his clean(ish) room with his arms.

"Well? What do you think?" Gamoras eyes wandered around his room and nodded subtly.

"It's not half bad."

"What! I spent the past hour cleaning it up!" Peter joked. Although he really had spent the last hour or so tidying it. She smiled and sat down on his freshly made bed.

"Did you change the sheets too?" Peters' eyes grew wide as he misinterpreted what she was asking.

"Uh, well," he stammered, clearly caught off guard. Gamora stared blankly at him.

"You know you should change them like once every two weeks." Ha. Shit. She was literally just asking if he had changed his sheets. God, he was such a dumbass.

"Yeah, I did last week…" He lied weakly. She chuckled at him and shook her head. Gamora leaned back onto his pillow and sighed. Peter softly sat beside her and looked at her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The way she looked at him, you would've thought that he had asked her to punch a baby. Then her face changed and she looked absolutely defeated. She shut her eyes and pulled her hands to her chest. Gamora sighed heavily before curling up into a little ball. She laid there for a few moments before she opened up her eyes. Peter had never seen her like this. Usually she was the one who comforted him. He reached out his hand and rested it on her forearm.

Gamora drew a breath and began to speak.

"Okay. It's just been really weird between us lately and you've been an ass and I just, ugh, I just don't know anymore." He mentally kicked himself. She was upset because he had been a total dickhead lately. He didn't even know why he had been acting like that either; it was almost like he was a hormonal teenager again.

"Look, I'm sorry I've been a total dill hole lately. I know I can't make up for it but I'm sorry." Gamora shrunk even smaller and turned her back towards him. He could hear her sniffling. Fuck. He had no damn clue what to do. He shifted his body so that he was laying on his back and put a hand on her shoulder. Peter just laid there and reflected on all the douchey things he had done lately. He was never mean to Gamora, but Rocket had been getting under his skin. Still, that didn't justify his actions. He made the occasional mean joke and sometimes let his ego get the best of him.

Peter shifted his weight so that he was on his side, his body facing the back of Gamora. She flipped around to face him, her eyes damp. She looked so kind and innocent.

"It's been hard for all us."

"I know, and I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you." He extended his hand so that it cupped her face and she softly nuzzled into it. She let her eyes close and felt her entire body relax.

"But hey," He whispered, gingerly lifting her head towards his own. "I'm here now...and I have orange hair. Doesn't that cheer you up just a little bit?" He teased, rubbing his thumb across her chin. She smiled and chuckled at him.

"It is rather funny." She admitted. He draped his arm over her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Is this okay?" Peter asked carefully. He wanted to make sure that she was okay with whatever he was doing or what was happening.

She nodded and lightly pushed him onto his back and then laid her head down onto his chest. He was sure that she could hear his heart beating a million miles per hour. He forced himself to take a deep breath and tried to calm down. She obviously noticed because she giggled at him.

"It's okay. I don't have a place for my knife in this outfit anyways…" She smiled, reminiscing on the time that she held a knife to his throat because he was going to kiss her. He laughed, obviously remembering the same moment.

"Speaking of that lovely outfit, care to tell me about it?" He teased, picking at the fluffy yellow fabric. "You look kind of like Big Bird."

She glanced up at him, clearly confused about his reference.

"I am not a bird."

"No, he's a big yellow fluffy bird on a kids television show."

"Oh. Well, I found it at a store on Xandar. It's comfortable." He laughed at her explanation and simply nodded in response. They lay in silence for a few minutes before Gamora poked at something in his pocket. His eyes instantly went wide before he remembered that the remote to the speakers were in there.

"That's, uh, not a gun in my pocket," He silently laughed at his own joke in his head, knowing that Gamora would not understand before continuing, "it's the remote to the speaker system you gave me." She stuck her hand into his pocket and fished around for the remote. He shut his eyes and prayed that she wouldn't grab onto something else in his pants. Even though he was trying to prevent it, he really just couldn't help but get hard around her. She found it and hit the play button. She propped up and put her face close to his.

Elvis' deep voice rang out of the speakers, "Wise men say, only fools rush in, oh, but I can't help falling in love with you," Peter held his breath, Gamora had put his entire music library on shuffle and dear god this was the song that chose to come on? She was intently listening to the lyrics while staring at him. He watched her close her eyes and she softly brought her lips up to his...


	3. Pelvic Sorcery

Chapter 3: Pelvic Sorcery

Hi! I've been super busy and just haven't had a moment to sit down in a couple of days, but thankfully I have some time rn! Enjoy!

"As the river flows gently to the sea, darling so we go, some things were meant to be…" Peter pulled Gamora closer and deepened their kiss. Holy shit, this was actually happening. Sure, they had had their moments before, but nothing like this. He was always making little moves on her, like him asking her to dance or surprising her with her favorite fruit. She had always dismissed him slightly, but not enough to make him stop. Peter could feel that she liked him too, but was apparently too afraid to do anything about it. It was almost ironic, the deadliest woman in the galaxy was scared. But now she wasn't. She was kissing him back, running her hands through his hair. Their kiss was passionate, raw, and full of unspoken things. That Peter now had to make spoken.

He drew his head back and cursed himself. God, why couldn't he just kiss her and not have to worry about anything else? She opened her eyes and cocked her head at him.

"Look, before, ya know, anything else happens, we should probably talk about this," Quill said, still mentally kicking himself. It was the right thing to do, but it felt so god awful right now. Gamora closed her eyes and sighed.

"Peter, why do we have to talk about it right now?"

He was wondering the same damn thing himself. But still, he couldn't let this go on without getting a straight answer. Peter wanted to know her feelings and emotions and just overall thoughts on what the fuck was going on right now. His mind was racing a million miles a minute; he was scared his heart was going to beat right out of his chest.

"Because I want to know how you feel." That was a solid answer. Good job Peter.

She stared at him like he was a total idiot. It was not as good of an answer as he thought.

"Well, I'm kissing you, aren't I?" She had a point there.

"Gamora, I really like you." FUCK. He was a fucking blubbering idiot. Gamora was still staring blankly at him. She smiled and shook her head at him, giggling slightly.

"I can see that. You have not exactly been subtle. You tried to kiss me two days after we met."

"Yeah, well, you're just so attractive…" Peter trailed off, running his hand up and down her back. She didn't flinch this time, instead, she welcomed his touch.

"Just kiss me you, idiot."

That, Peter, could do. He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him on the bed, his hands began to explore her back and hips. She kissed him hard, almost as if she was trying to make up for all of those previous rejections. Gamora looped her leg under one of his, tangling them together. She then tugged at his hair and ran her fingers through it, pulling it. He responded by cupping her face and gently tracing circles with his thumbs. She was being more aggressive than he was, and she slipped her hands under his shirt, and he recoiled slightly at her touch. Gamora immediately stopped.

"What's wrong?" She asked, clearly worried she had done something terribly wrong. But she definitely hadn't. She could touch him anywhere and everywhere she wanted. Hell, he'd beg her to touch him wherever she wanted. He chuckled slightly and replied,

"Your hands were cold. But please continue." She smiled and lunged at him again. Her hands ran up and down his chiseled stomach, and made their way to his neck. Gamora tugged at his shirt and tried to get it off of his head without breaking their kiss. Damn, okay, she was going a little fast. Sure, Peter walked around without a shirt on half the time anyways, but still, this was a completely different situation. Gamora was asking him to take his clothes off. Fuck yes. He whipped it off and managed to pull her on top of him in one fluid motion. She was now laying on top of him and was staring intently into his eyes.

In the background, Elvis was trailing off, "I can't help falling in love with you…" Peter began listening intently to see what song would come on next. It was stupid, but he felt like a great song would be a good omen. He almost cried when he heard the spunky bass of "Fooled Around and Fell in Love".

"Wasn't this the first song that you showed me?" Gamora asked as she messed with his hair.

"Yeah, and you almost freaking stabbed me."

"No. I held a knife to your throat. There's a difference." Peter snorted.

"Barely!"

"Well, you tried to kiss me." She teased, still playing with his orange ass hair. He laughed at her,

"What? Is that a crime?"

"Not anymore." Once again she kissed him, and this time even slipped some tongue in. What the hell? Who the fuck taught Gamora how to use her tongue this well? He couldn't help it, between her tongue and her hands and just her, he moaned slightly. He could feel her smirk against their kiss. She was obviously enjoying toying with him. To make matters worse, she had now positioned herself so she was straddling him, and was slightly grinding up against him. He was so hard, it almost hurt. He had dreamed of this moment since he met her.

Gamora sat up and took off her robe and revealing a tight black tank top and leggings. Holy fuck. He couldn't think straight anymore, all he could do was stare at her. She looked satisfied with his reaction. Apparently, she was trying to make him explode because she pulled her tank top off. Her bra was simple and black, but he couldn't get over how absolutely incredible she was.

"Gamora, uh, wow." Was the best Peter could muster out. He still couldn't think properly. Once again, she seemed smug and satisfied. She bent back down to kiss him, once again grinding her hips on him. Freaking pelvic sorcery.

He had his hands on her hips, his fingers thumbing the top edge of her leggings, and playing with the fabric. Gamora decided to just go for it and did the same to him, except she slipped her whole hand under his sweatpants. He tensed slightly, she was so close to him. Peter was rock hard and just leaking everywhere. She pulled away and looked up at him, obviously looking for permission. He nodded and she pulled his pants off of him, threw them into the corner and then yanked her own off. Peter had never really appreciated just how buff she was. He was decently proud of his own body, but damn she was ripped. When she turned back towards him he could make out a little six pack and her thighs looked really hard. Peter's were jiggly and gross and ugh. She sat back on top of him and began attacking his neck, he moaned and felt his eyes roll back into his head. Gamora began tracing circles on his chest, then slowly meandered down. He was absolutely powerless, there was nothing he could do besides moan and try not to cum. She was making it really hard.

He finally couldn't help himself anymore and flipped her over so that he was on top of her. She smirked at him. God, she was obviously toying with him. Gamora could read him like a book. He kissed her passionately, running his hands through her hair. She did the same to him, but she was still pushing her hips up towards him. Damn her. She pulled away and cupped his face in her hands. He could feel the metal from her rings on his face and sighed deeply. She was staring at him intently and longingly.

"Peter, I want you." It took him a beat to understand what she meant. Holy fuck.

"Are you sure?" He blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Yes." Okay then. That he could definitely do. She shimmied out from under him and sat up. He bolted up next to her and put his arm around her, pulling her close. He kissed the top of her forehead and immediately felt like a mushy idiot. Oh well, it was cute as hell.

He slowly pulled her on top of him once more.

"Are you absolutely sure?" He asked again. She nodded and sat on his hips once more. Gamora turned her head towards the opposite wall, clearly avoiding eye contact with him and she unhooked her bra and threw it towards their other clothes.

Peter made some weird moaning and gurgling sound. His brain literally could not comprehend what was happening right now. She seemed to understand that and shook her head at him. Gamora leaned back onto him and kissed him hard, running her hands all over his body, all while grinding onto him. He kissed her back, keeping his hands firmly on her sides. She moved them to her breasts and nodded. He began to lightly massage them, and it was her turn to moan.

After a song or two of them just exploring and messing with one another, Gamora pulled her panties off and flung them.

"Your turn." She teased at him. He didn't waste any time pulling down his own underwear and tossed them off to the side. She stared at him. "Damn," she breathed. This gave Peter newfound confidence, and he once again flipped her over. He was literally right on top of her, hovering over her naked body. Gamora was in his bed. Naked. He decided it was time to return the favor. He began to tease her, kissing her neck and breasts, slowly letting his fingers roam around her body. She moaned and bucked her hips up at her, obviously growing impatient. Apparently, he had teased her a little too much because she cupped his face and stared at him.

"Fuck me."

You didn't have to tell him twice. He slowly lowered himself back onto her and rolled his fingers over her wet labia. He watched as her eyes rolled back into her head and her breathing became labored. Peter guided himself into her softly and slowly. She began moaning louder and was moving her body down onto his. Once he was fully inside of her he began thrusting his hips back and forth, slowly picking up speed. Gamora attacked his mouth, kissing him hard and wildly. Her hands were everywhere. He used his right hand to rub her clit, which sent her body shaking. She moaned his name and told him to go harder. He didn't hesitate to listen to her. She was getting pretty loud now and he was worried about the sound on this ship. Oh well.

"Peter, oh, I'm going to cum," she breathed, barely able to speak. He was close as well, only a minute or two away from letting go. He continued to stroke her clit as she thrashed around from her orgasm.

"Fuck! Peter!" She screamed, bucking her hips up, causing him to orgasm alongside her. He rested his head on her chest, breathing heavily. She laid her head on his; her breath still labored.

Peter heard loud footsteps all of a sudden and heard his door barge open.

"What the fuck is this?" Rocket cried out.


	4. Checking for Wrinkles?

Chapter Four: Checking for Wrinkles?

Rocket couldn't believe what he was seeing. There were flashes of green and pale skin as Quill and Gamora frantically attempted to get under the sheets. What the everloving fuck was going on.

He had to dodge as something went whizzing by his head, followed by Quill telling him to get the fuck out. Rocket exited the door as quickly as he had entered, his head spinning the whole time. Sure, Quill and Gamora had their flirty moments but he never expected it to come to this. Then again, Mantis told him that when Drax, Quill, and Gamora first met her, she revealed to the entire room that Quill felt romantic love for Gamora. But why the hell would she be interested in him? Plus, he's no longer half-celestial god so who the hell cares about him? Rocket scampered down the hallway to inform everyone else of Quill and Gamoras incriminating playtime.

Peter couldn't look at her. He was currently buried under the covers and refused to come out from them because if he did, he'd have to face Rocket. Why doesn't anyone knock around here?

Gamora sat up against the wall and sighed. Peter was hiding under the blankets but his arm was still wrapped around her waist. His head was nuzzled up to her thigh, his fingers were tracing circles on her skin. She didn't regret what just happened. Hell, she had wanted it to happen for some time now. But she just couldn't admit it to herself before now. Gamora was never taught to love, and she was often showed that love got you killed. It also made one foolish and irrational. But right now, she didn't care about that. All she cared about was the man who was currently hiding from a four-foot tall talking raccoon. Then again, Rocket was definitely about to go tell everybody what he just saw.

Rocket ran into Drax first, who was in the kitchen cutting up some fruit.

"Drax! Holy shit!" He panted, stopping to catch his breath, "You'll never guess what I just saw! Guess!" Drax looked at him blankly.

"If I will never guess then why are you asking me to guess? You are simply setting me up to fail." He continued to calmly chop up the yarrow root. Rocket groaned in frustration.

"No! You big blue moron! Gah! I gotta go get everyone else. You stay here." Again, Drax stared blankly at him. Rocket made a face at him before running out to go gather Mantis and Groot.

"I am Groot," Groot said, not budging from his bed. He had his game in his hand and didn't take his eyes off of it.

"You should care! I got a big announcement I want everyone to hear!" Rocket huffed and stomped his feet at Groot, who still hadn't moved his eyes from his video game.

"I am Groot."

"Damnit Groot, you will get your ass up and go into the common room… Or else I'll smash your game." Rocket was not messing around on this one; he was really excited to tell everyone about his discovery. Groot looked at him, mumbled something in Groot and slowly got up off of his bed and followed eager Rocket down the hallway.

Peter mumbled something into Gamora's thigh that she couldn't quite make out.

"What did you say?" Gamora asked, lifting up the covers so she could look at him.

Again he mumbled into her leg.

"I really cannot understand you." He turned his head upwards and flopped over on his back, groaning the whole way.

"Fuck. That's what I said. Fuck."

"Oh," Gamora said quietly, wondering if he was talking about Rocket or what happened before he barged in. He rubbed his hands on his eyes and muttered angrily to himself. He then glanced over at her and noticed her uncomfortable and worried expression. Peter immediately sat up and embraced her.

"No, no, I'm talking about that nosy little trash panda," Peter cupped her head in his hands and stroked his thumb against her cheek, "Then again, if I said fuck in a different tone, like a "holy shit that was the best thing ever", then I would be talking about...ya know. The way I use fuck is really similar to Groot's whole "I am Groot" nonsense. I can't believe that I can actually understand him now." Peter was blabbing, and it was clear that his mind was racing. Gamora's was as well, she was wondering what this would make them if Rocket had told everybody by now, how they would handle it if it would change the ships dynamic, just anything and everything. Fuck it.

"Peter, let's talk."

Mantis was being dragged down the hallway by Rocket, who was eager to gather everyone together.

"Drax! Come sit!" He yelled at Drax, who was still chopping up the root. Drax put down the knife and followed them into the common room.

"Everyone, please sit and gather 'round, for I have some very interesting news about our two favorite people."

"My two favorite people are dead," Drax said, completely void of emotion. Mantis looked at him quizzingly before deciding to drop it.

"Anyways," Rocket continued, "I was on my way to see Quill's new hair when I heard Gamora screaming." He paused for dramatic effect and to make sure he had everyone's attention. Drax was still staring at him while Mantis looked confused. Groot was hanging onto his every word.

"Screaming? Had she stubbed her toe? She hates that." Drax chimed in, clearly thinking that he was helping. Rocket ignored him.

"So, I rushed into Quill's room and they were on his bed...completely naked." He was once again met with blank stares.

"I am Groot."

"No! They were not doing laundry!" Rocket snapped at Groot, angry at how naive he was.

"Perhaps they were checking one another for wrinkles. Last week Gamora pointed out a wrinkle on Peters' face and he got very upset." Mantis said obviously. Rocket groaned and put his face into his hands.

"No! They were hooking up!" Rocket then made a circle with one hand and then mimicked his other finger going through the hole. Everyone then stared at him blankly. God, they were all idiots.

"Why would Peter put his finger through Gamora's circle? It doesn't… Oh! I see now. He was impregnating her!" Drax finally understood what Rocket was trying to say. However, it made Rocket shudder a little bit. He hadn't thought that far ahead. Yuck. Mantis then seemed to understand it, but she still looked a little lost. Groot was still totally confused.

"I am Groot." Rocket groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"I'll explain it to you later!"

Gamora wanted to talk. Peter wasn't sure if he should be happy or weary.

"Okay, then talk." She stared at him and took a deep breath.

"Ever since you brought up that unspoken thing, I can't stop thinking about it. I was ignorant in thinking that I could simply ignore it and you would stop. I underestimated your persistence." Peter grabbed her hand and chuckled at her comment.

"Stubborn is my middle name."

"I thought it was Jason?" Gamora asked as he laughed at her.

"You're exactly right." Peter couldn't help but be amazed by everything she didn't understand. While he wasn't on Earth very long, he had picked up a lot of saying that only he understood. It was often amusing to see the Guardians react to them.

"Good. But, about this thing, I was hesitant. When I was with Thanos, I saw horrible things caused by love. People often killed themselves if he slaughtered their husband or wife or children. I did not want to be a fool like that. I know that it can all be taken away like that." She said as she snapped her fingers. He understood what she was trying to same, and he had had those worries himself. Peter squeezed her hand and smiled softly at her.

"I understand that. But life ain't worth living unless you have someone to cherish it with. I'd rather die knowing I had you than live without you." Gamora looked at him tenderly, and it almost melted his heart. He pulled her into an embrace and she hugged him back.

"I understand now." She whispered to him.


	5. Happiness

Chapter Five: Happiness  
Hi y'all! I really appreciate all of the comments and kudos and everything else! This will probably be the last chapter, unless I obviously change my mind and decide to write more. I already have an idea for a new fanfic in my head so y'all might wanna subscribe if you want to read about 2014 Gamora and 2023 Peter and possibly some fat Thor? Thanks so much for reading!

"Quill! That isn't funny!" Rocket yelled as trying to log into the ships database. Every member of the Guardians had their own unique voice activated login. It was usually their name or nickname, and Rocket's own code was simply 'Rocket'. But today it was not working. After the whole Quill and Gamora fiasco of yesterday, Rocket thought that everything was back to normal. Except, of course, Quill's orange hair. Rocket obviously had the recipe for an antidote, but it was funnier to watch Quill nitpick himself every time he walked past a mirror. He was thinking about adding some more mirrors in the kitchen just to watch Quill groan. Rocket had hoped that he would be too caught up in Gamora's newfound interest to prank him back. Apparently not.

Quill came into the control room and crossed his arms arrogantly.

"What seems to be the issue?" He asked, obviously already knowing the answer. Rocket glared at him and crossed his own arms in retaliation.

"Did you change my login code?" Rocket asked, "Because it isn't working and the override isn't either. This isn't funny Quill. I need to log on!"

Quill stroke his beard quizzingly and stepped towards the panel.

"Star-Lord."

"Welcome, Star-Lord. What would you like to do today?"

"Change Rocket's log in!" Rocket shouted, shoving Quill out of the way.

"Hey! Watch it!" Peter said, stumbling to catch his balance.

"Rocket not found. Would you like me to give you a list of authorized users?"

"Duh." Rocket said, folding his arms against his chest.

"Okay. Star-Lord is an authorized user."  
"Yes! We know that. Who else?" Rocket said sternly while Peter was trying to hide his laughter.

"Drax is an authorized user, as well as I am Groot, Gamora, and Mantis." Rocket slammed his tiny fist against the dashboard and then turned towards Quill.

"What did you do!"

"There is one more authorized user."

"Well, who the hell is it?"

"Trash Panda is an authorized user." Rockets face went blank. Peter was roaring with laughter.

"That's what you get for dying my hair orange!" He laughed, Quill clearly thought this was so clever. Rocket was almost blind with rage, he was no fucking panda. What the fuck was a panda anyways?

"I only did that because you called me a trash panda! Quill, you need to check your ego before it explodes and takes over your whole tiny brain!" Rocket shoved him out of his way and stormed out of the room.

Due to Rocket's anger, he didn't see that Gamora was walking towards him.

"Hey, Rocket, are you alright?" She asked him gingerly. Rocket turned away from her, hiding the single tear that was slipping down his cheek. He wiped it away and didn't respond. She walked over to him and crouched down so that their faces were near one another.

"Did Peter do something?" Rockets ears perked up and he finally sighed and nodded his head.

"He's being a dick."

"What did he do? I'll kick his ass." He chuckled at the thought of Gamora and Quill fighting because she really would kick his ass.

"He reprogrammed the log in so my name would be trash panda." Gamora narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips together.

"Does that hurt your feelings?" She asked him softly.

"What? Uh, no." Rocket mumbled unconvincingly. Gamora quickly stood up and shook her head.

"Damn him," She looked mad as hell before stating, "I'll take care of this."

She glanced back at him before walking into the control room. This outta be good Rocket thought.

"Peter, what the hell did you do?" Gamora asked as she walked up behind Peter. He turned around to face her. She had her hands on her hips and looked mad as hell. Shit.

"Well, you see, Rocket decided to dye my hair orange, so I changed his login." She still stared at him, unblinking. He was starting to think that this maybe wasn't his best plan. Gamora took a step towards him and closed the gap between them. She was staring at him, waiting for further explanation. Fuck.

"Listen, he turned my hair orange. I couldn't let him get away with it."

"Did you ever think that maybe he was trying to teach you a lesson? Calling Rocket names is a dangerous game."

"He told me to change the song!" Okay, now that sounded dumb even to Peter. Gamora rolled her eyes at him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"You are a dumbass."

"Fair enough." Peter and Gamora were in some sort of staring contest, edging dangerously close to one another. Their faces were almost touching.

"You have orange hair and have pissed off a gun-wielding talking raccoon. You might want to fix that." Peter grabbed her waist and pulled her against himself. She smiled at him and sighed.

"I can do that later." He stated before bringing his lips to hers, and she responded by cupping his face with one hand and the other was entangled in his hair. Peter pushed his hips against hers, and she could feel his bulge pulsing. She deepened the kiss as he pressed her up to the wall and ran his hands up and down her sides, slowly thumbing at her waist.

Gamora turned her attention towards Peters' neck, slowly kissing her way down. He moaned and slipped his hands underneath her shirt, and was shocked to discover that she was not wearing a bra. Oh hell yes. He slowly massaged her breasts as she moaned into his neck. Finally, she couldn't stand it and whipped Peters shirt off of him. She took a step back and just stared at his body. Peter had been feeling a little angry lately and had tried to channel that out through his Bowflex. It had obviously been helping because Gamora gingerly touched his abs and then poked them. Peter was flexing hard, and it was beginning to give him a slight headache. Oh well, he looked damn good. He suddenly heard a loud noise and realized that the door to the control room was still open. Peter really wanted to slam it shut and then fuck Gamora against the wall, but he knew he had to go investigate that noise. He looked at her and could tell she was thinking the exact same thing. He sighed and pick his t-shirt up from the ground and hastily put it back on.

"It's backward." Gamora pointed out. Peter groaned but spun it around and nearly punched himself in the face trying to get his arms out of the shirt holes. Whoops…

"Better? Come on, let's go see what that was."

They raced around the ship only to find Rocket standing in the kitchen wiping orange goop off of his fur. Drax was belly laughing at him so hard Peter thought he was going to throw up everywhere. Mantis was helping Rocket get the stuff off of his fur while Groot was watching them. What the hell was going on? Rocket turned to face the pair and had a mixed expression on his face.

"What happened?" Gamora inquired, gesturing to the big vat of orange gunk. It smelled weird; it was vaguely familiar but Peter couldn't place it.

"You see, I was trying to be a good shipmate and make the antidote to Quill's little pumpkin head but something went wrong." Ah, so that's why it was orange. The goop smelled like hair dye! Peter remembered the smell of his mom coloring her hair in their bathroom on a rainy Sunday.

"It was splendid!" Drax chimed in, still laughing to himself.

"Wait, you're saying there was a cure and you didn't think to tell me?" Peter asked, verging on anger before he remembered that he had called Rocket names and then made the computer lady call him names too. It was a miracle that Rocket was making it at all.

"It occurred to me that making your hair orange could possibly make things worse than they were before." Rocket said while looking down at his feet, clearly slightly embarrassed by this show of emotions. Peter took a rag from the counter, crouched next to Rocket and began to whip the substance off of him.

"Hey, buddy, look, I'm sorry for being a dickhead. I know it wasn't cool to call you names or to program the ship's computer login, but I'm sorry. The whole my father was a planet thing who killed thousands of my siblings and my mother kinda messed me up. And now we have another teammate's homicidal father to worry about too," He winked at Gamora before continuing, "I'm sorry. Nothing like you 'cept you." Rocket nodded at him then lowered his own head.

"I get it. That's why I was working to fix your hair." Peter laughed and shook his head at Rocket.

"Thanks, Rocket. I've actually grown quite fond of it." He said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Uh, Rocket, I'd still work on that cure if I were you." Gamora cut in. She obviously was not in favor of the orange 'do. Oh well. He still got laid with it, didn't he?

"I quite like it." Mantis chimed in. Peter had almost forgotten that they were standing there. She put her hand on Peter's shoulder and did the antenna thing so she could read Peter's emotions. Fuck.

"He is lying about the hair. But he feels love."

"Aw Quill, do you loooooove me?" Rocket teased, then made kissy faces at him. Mantis then did her antenna thing to Rocket as well.

"You also feel love!"

"What! No, I don't!" Rocket cried out.

"Fatherly love!" Mantis declared before stepping out of an angry raccoon's grasp. Peter could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He had no idea that Rocket felt that way about him, he never imagined himself being a father figure to anyone, much less a talking experimental rodent. But hey, he loved the guy too.

The room was eerily silent; no one quite knew what to say. So Mantis decided to touch Gamora's shoulder when she wasn't expecting it.

"Gamora also feels love!" Gamora spun around and pinned Mantis up against the wall, her arm shoved against her back.

"Ow!"

"Never do that again." Gamora released Mantis and had a blank face as she turned towards the rest of the Guardians. Love. As in romantic? Or fatherly? Or motherly? Or friendship? Fuck.

"What type of love?" Peter asked, certain that Gamora was about to slice his head clean off. But instead, she simply smiled at him. Interesting he thought.

"I think you already know." Mantis replied while cradling her wrist. Gamora sighed then walked out to the fridge and pulled out an ice pack. She handed it to Mantis and apologized.

"Do me! Do me!" Drax cried. Damn, Drax never wanted to be left out of anything. It was kind of endearing that he always wanted to be apart of whatever the Guardians were doing. Mantis walked over to Drax and touched his shoulder.

"You are feeling happiness."


End file.
